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Speech given by Cllr Fleur Anderson, Labour spokesperson on the Environment, at the Council Meeting on March 6th 2018 – the last council meeting before the May 3rd election

A balanced community is one which is not run in favour of one group or another, and feels fair to everyone. A balanced community may be diverse, made up of very different people and groups, but everyone feels that they have a stake in the community, people don’t feel left out.

People have every opportunity to get on in life, but don’t feel that they are getting on at the expense of others. People in a balanced community can feel stable and secure and not worried that change they don’t agree with could come at any time.

A balanced community is a better place to live, to get on, to raise a family, to enjoy later years.

Wandsworth residents are feeling that something is unbalanced in the way the Conservative administration is running our borough. Things have gone too far in favour of developers and developments that aren’t for them or their children. They want the balance back.

I know its not just the fault of the Conservative administration here in Wandsworth, it’s the National Conservative Government that has imposed austerity and cuts. Tories have stripped local power away for years – with Wandsworth Tories cheering on from the sidelines – and left our local services, and us, struggling.

The council doesn’t seem to be taking enough action, isn’t as concerned as we are about pollution, clean streets, trees and our green spaces. In so many ways the balance is wrong and the Tories’ lack of action on the environment is an example of this.

TREES

The council should have a target for more tree planting across the borough. Instead there is a pattern of planting more trees in the year before an election and removing more trees than are planted in the other years. Between 2014-17 540 trees were planted but 713 removed. There are missing trees in so many streets and estates. Instead, we should always plant more trees than we remove (we should care for trees better and not remove so many) and align with the Mayor’s London plan and aim to increase tree cover by 10% by 2050 and check our tree planting plans against this.

AIR QUALITY

Putney High Street is one of the worst areas for the unseen killer that is air pollution. Last week the council should have agreed the £1.2 million needed for the first three (out of five sets) of actions to tackle air quality – not just £540,000 for a bare minimum of actions that on their own can’t tackle pollution. The council has the money in the community infrastructure levy budget and Putney residents want URGENT action – and in Clapham Junction and Tooting High Street too.

CYCLING

The main cause of pollution is road traffic – and so moving to non-polluting travel – cycling and walking – should be a priority, yet walking and cycling don’t get much of a look in in road changes and housing policies. Here are three examples of lack of action:

Cycling parking is one example of lack of action. No secure parking is a major obstacle to people cycling more – if you think your bike will be nicked when you go somewhere it puts you off. In 2014 the council was awarded £50,000 to trial 10 secure bike hangars. In four years only two have been put into streets. So out of 1,956 streets in Wandsworth, only two have secure bike parking. There has been no explanation of this to the community services committee as if it doesn’t matter.

An easy win to make our streets cycle friendly is making one way streets two-way for cyclists and across no-though roads but again very little action. In 2013 £50,000 or funding (from TfL) was for 15 streets. Guess how many of the one way streets have been changed? None – and just three changes to allow cycle across no through roads. And no report back to committee on the lack of progress and what is happening to the money instead. By my reckoning there are just 6 contraflow roads in Wandsworth (two are in Bedford Ward – do you know where?). In neighbouring Lambeth, with similar roads, there are 40 in place with 20 more agreed.

There should be more cycle lanes and separate spaces for bikes at junctions, changes like traffic calming in Nightingale Lane should not throw cyclists out into the road… I could go on.

So, we have 700 new electric charging points in place or agreed, at a cost of £3 million. This is good – but what is the equivalent action on cycling and walking? There is no balance people different users of our streets – we shouldn’t let our streets be so dominated by cars – instead we should be swapping between different ways to get around. Wandsworth Labour will take joined up and ambitious action for active travel – cycling and walking.

RECYCLING

Our recycling record doesn’t get much of a look in in Brightside does it! I haven’t seen any photo opportunities of cabinet members holding up a big sign saying ‘Wandsworth has one of the poorest records on recycling of all the London boroughs’, or ‘We recycle 27% of our waste when the London average is 52%.’ These are shocking statistics. Wandsworth Labour will recycle more and making money from our waste not spending a fortune on to burn it.

When it comes to the environment, Wandsworth really isn’t the brighter borough or the greener borough.

People want more action on the environment, and so do we. If we’re elected, starting on May 4th, Wandsworth Labour will get the balance in our communities back. We will set ambitious environmental targets and show the political will and determination to work with residents to achieve them.

Congratulations to Tooting Common ParkRun on its second birthday. ParkRun is a national health and fitness success story. It’s a free timed 5km run (not a race) every Saturday at 9am at places all over the country and run by volunteers. Wandsworth Council tried to block ParkRun from coming to Tooting Common, but lots of local residents protested and they agreed, initially for a ‘trail basis’. The trial was successful, and other parks and common in Wandsworth should be allowed to have ParkRun too.

Thank you very much to all the amazing volunteers who come and cheer on runners like me on Saturdays. Why not make the birthday run your first one? Sign up online, print out your bar code and come along on 9am on Saturday 27th February. There are lots of slow runners and beginners so if you haven’t run or just started as a New Years Resolution then its perfect – if I can do it anyone can!

Elmbourne Road, Hillbury Road and St Anselms school traffic issues

Rosena and Fleur handing in the Hillbury and Elmbourne Rds safety petition in October 2015

Plans to address dangerous traffic on Elmbourne Road, HIllbury Road will finally be coming to the Community Services Committee on February 20th. Fleur and Rosena presented these petitions back in October 2015 and various things have meant delays, but we haven’t given up!

You are welcome to come and see the committee in action. If you’d like to make any comments I advance please send them to us. The proposals will be made public the week before the meeting, and we hope will include measures to calm traffic on these roads and to have some crossings from the Heaver Estate side onto the common.

Good and bad news on air quality – please sign the petition

Mid-January for the last few years has been marked by a grim announcement that London has already exceeded the annual legal limits for the toxic air. This year this has been delayed – meaning that air quality is getting better. Clean bus routes are a big part of the reason and we need more of them on our roads. The improving air shows that actions by London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan are working. However in Wandsworth so much more could be done. Wandsworth has been in special measures for air quality since 2003. The dangerous levels of Nitrogen Oxides and tiny particles in the air have been shown to case heart and lung disease and especially affect children.

If you would like to see the council taking more action on air quality, please sign this petition.

Air quality is slowly and quietly damaging our health in London. Sadiq Khan has gone far further than Boris did – showing what can be done if its a priority. But in Wandsworth there are no clean air zones around schools, there is half-hearted action against car idling and only one clean bus route. Wandsworth Labour would overhaul our road planning so that air quality would be major factor in every decision: it’s not at the moment. We’d also make public transport, walking and cycling more attractive options. One way to increase cycling is to put secure cycling pods on streets and at all stations. We’d work with Mayor more, and make clean air zones around schools. Actions by Conservative councillors for the past 40 years has not been good enough – more needs to be done to tackle this public health crisis.

We are really sad to see Stepping Stones nursery in Ravenstone school close down. Despite a major need for affordable childcare in the area, the repair bill for the building was too high for the nursery company who lease it from the council. When I had small children here there were one o’clock clubs, a crèche at the leisure centre and plenty of choice of nurseries. All of this pre-school support is getting cut back, leaving very few affordable child care options during the all important pre-school years.

Anti-social behaviour

Since we were elected in 2014 we’re done lots of work with local police and residents to address different anti-social behaviour issues as they have arisen. These are normally very distressing and intimidating for local residents and it’s a priority to sort them out. By working together, and with focus from our three-strong local police team, we have managed to see anti-social behaviour stopped on most occasions.

At the moment we’re working with the local police and local residents to address anti-social behaviour in a couple of streets in the ward. Do call 101 to report intimidating behaviour and let us know too.

Newlands Estate – new garden and fly tipping

Clare Fraser talking with residents in Baringer Square last weekend

We visit local roads regularly to hear about the issues that concern you. at the moment there are a bumper crop of fly tips at the moment on Newslands Estate (Baringer Square and Treherene Court, off Tooting Bec Road), which we’re reported to the council. We’ve also asked for action on the issue of the chute in the middle block (7-69) being frequently blocked.

On a more positive note, the Newlands Residents Association have been successful in getting a non-descript grass area to be cleaned up, with apples trees planted and picnic benches due to come in the summer. It’s a really nice feature on the estate – well done to the Residents Association for persevering!

Winter outing ideas – Morden Hall and Lumiere

I always value local recommendations of things to do so here’s a couple. We took the dog and children on a lovely walk in Morden Hall Park. It has a short walkway through lovely wetlands which is very accessible for buggies and wheelchairs, and then the walk goes through the Hall gardens.

Coming soon is the absolutely magical Lumiere – lighting up buildings, floating in the air and letting you walk through the London’s central streets without traffic. It will be from 18 – 21 January. More information here.

With the local elections coming up in Wandsworth on 3 May next year, we thought we’ tell you a little more about ourselves and our interests (both in and out of politics!) so that you can get to know us a little better.

Cllr Fleur Anderson

What are your interests (outside of politics): I have four children and love getting interested in what they are interested in. I’m in a book club (we don’t actually discuss the books a lot!), love cycling, going to free events in London and walking my dog on Tooting Common.

What national Labour achievement are you most proud of, and why? I can’t just have one!! Sure Start was a major achievement. Sure Start centres across the country supported young families and changed life chances at the pre-school time that can make most difference. Sure Start centres built stronger communities and made peoples’ lives better. I’m still so angry that the Tories came into government and closed most down.

The other Labour Government achievement I am proud was being global leaders on international development and making a commitment to spend 0.7% of our GDP on aid. I’m glad that the Tories have also supported this commitment as for little money we do save lives around the world. I’ve been fortunate enough to see a lot of the government’s development work in action when I worked for Water Aid.

What’s on your 2018 wishlist? I was very honoured to elected as a councillor in 2014 and to serve my local community. I have worked hard, learnt so much, tried to be as actively involved in standing up for people, supporting community groups and making changes that make our local area an even better place to live. After 40 years of Tory Wandsworth it’s time for a change and Labour Wandsworth would keep the same low council tax, listen to residents more, get out of the pockets of developers, and stand up against school cuts and for EU citizens. So winning the Council is top of my wish list for 2018.

Aside from that I have double exams in my family this year – A levels and GCSEs, so getting to July in one piece will be a success!

Clare Fraser

What are your interests (outside of politics): When not out campaigning with the Labour party I play for a nearby hockey team, enjoy running round Tooting Common and in the summer months love going to Tooting Lido. I also enjoy discovering new places in London and going to see live music.

What national Labour achievement (national) are you most proud of, and why? As Fleur says, it’s difficult to have just one. As a woman involved in politics, I am proud of the achievement made by Barbara Castle in introducing the Equal Pay Act. Also, the passing of the National Minimum Wage Act and the investment made by Labour in education and teaching staff over the years are achievements I’m particularly proud of.

What’s on your 2018 wishlist? Being selected as a candidate has been one of my proudest achievements to date and it’s great being part of a Labour team in Wandsworth who are all listening to residents across the borough. I’m looking forward to continuing to work together to get elected and help Labour win Wandsworth Council in May 2018.

I also like to set myself a challenge to complete (the last 2 years it has been the London Triathlon) and am currently trying to pin down what I should do in 2018. My favourite element of the triathlon is the swim leg, and I really enjoyed participating in the first Serpentine Swim in 2016, so I may sign up for the longer distance swim in 2018.

Hector Wakefield

What are your interests: Outside of politics I enjoy reading, climbing, and the occasional bit of woodwork. I am a qualified skydiver and my long-term aim is to one day fly a wingsuit down an alpine mountain. Only another 600 jumps or so to go!

What national Labour achievement are you most proud of, and why? From when Labour were last in government, civil partnerships and the minimum wage were hugely important steps forward. From more recently, I am incredibly proud of Labour’s 2017 manifesto. It was full of progressive and fair ideas to make life in the UK better for everyone.

What’s on your 2018 wishlist? In 2018 I have two goals – get married, and get elected. How hard can that be. I am lucky enough to have found my soulmate and we are tying the knot in 2018. I hope the luck continues and Wandsworth Labour Party take control of Wandsworth Council. I am confident this will happen, and when it does there’s no end to the improvements we can make for so many of our 300,000+ residents.

The Tories in Wandsworth have ruled for the few and not the many for too long, and I’m glad its coming to end at the next election. 40 years is enough.

The Conservatives claim to be a success. Lets look back over these 40 years and judge their success in building a stronger community.

Success would be valuing children and young people and not presiding over school budget cuts and the closure of One O’clock clubs, Sure Start centres, and youth services across the borough.

Success for the local community would be a strong sense of ownership of our green spaces. But instead we have less and less say in what happens in our parks and commons. Prices to use sports facilities rise above inflation every year, car racing tracks can be put down in our parks and we can’t say no, beautiful trees are chopped down, air quality is getting worse and running our parks is contracted out by the contractors and we have no say.

Success would be making the most of partnership with community organisations, valuing what everyone thinks, finding the energy of local groups and enabling them to flourish. Instead, Conservative Wandsworth council have had a deliberate policy of not working with local voluntary organisations. The relationship between the voluntary sector should be strong but instead is broken. Other boroughs have Council for Voluntary Services – a CVS – which is excellent value for money as the council provides some support for community organisations who in turn can work together more easily, bring in more money and most importantly do more by local for local people. This is especially important in times of ever reducing council budgets. But not in Wandsworth.

Success would be lots of events and the ‘being together’ which makes friendships, builds communities and makes life fun. The council should be supporting culture and community events – our streets should be alive with temporary closures, parties, trying out playstreets, diverse cultural occasions. The unused council properties on High Streets should be pop up art spaces, start up businesses, creative places bringing our High Streets to life and making a trip to the shops an event. Instead bureaucracy and cost puts people off holding street events and High Street buildings lie unused.

Success would be sharing our good fortune with the world, welcoming refugees fleeing for their lives from their homes Syria. We would be a richer place if we were a more welcoming place. It’s the kind of compassion that would be contagious.

Success would be no need for foodbanks, no need for emergency supplies for people who have nothing left. Instead, between 1st April and 30th September 2017, over 2,000 three-day emergency food supplies were provided to local people in crisis by Wandsworth Foodbank.

Success is not 2,500 Wandsworth children now, right now, in bed and breakfasts because they are homeless – and these families have to keep paying for daily transport to schools and storage of their possessions.

Success is not the utter shambles of Brexit.

Tory Britain and Tory Wandsworth is nothing to be proud of.

In the Labour Party we have an alternative vision for the Wandsworth Borough we love. The same low council tax, collecting of our rubbish, championing our libraries and leisure centres and resurfacing our roads but a lot more.

We will invest in creating stronger communities.

We will invest in public services not run them down and sell them off. We will be the healthiest borough in London, greening our streets and cleaning up our air.

We will protect the vulnerable, champion the London living wage, challenge discrimination and be a borough that takes pride in every street, and where stronger communities mean better opportunities for everyone.

Highlights of the last month have been defending Ravenstone Primary School against a development next to their playground, speaking to lots of local residents with my fellow ward team members, Clare Fraser and Hector Wakefield, a new refugee family from Syria being welcomed to Tooting, and the Tooting Common Pumpkin Parade which gets bigger every year!

Read on for more news about:

Ravenstone Primary School;

Tooting Bec Lodge;

changes in police services;

a public meeting about knife crime;

a proposed library development in Battersea;

where to get advice on your rights;

welcoming a Syrian refugee family to Wandsworth;

Speedwatch on Streathbourne, Culverdon and Franciscan Roads; and

filming on Tooting Common.

Ravenstone Primary School – development rejected

The proposal was for 8 three story houses in the site of the garages.

People power won a victory at the planning committee last week – thanks to all the hard work by the parents, Headteacher, and co-chairs of governors. There were 175 objections to the three storey development of 8 houses on a very small piece of land cutting into the playground, with full length windows on each storey. Dr Allin-Khan MP strongly objected, and Cllr Fleur Anderson spoke at the committee. The development was refused and we wait to hear what the next steps will be. Overall, it would be far better if this could be a sports site or another facility which could be used by the school and local community.

Fleur celebrating after the Town Hall meeting with Rebecca and Sue, the co-chairs of governors

Clare and Hector letting parents know about the development last September. 175 people objected.

Tooting Bec Lodge repaired at last

We don’t have many very historic buildings in the area, and seeing the Tooting Bec Lodge disintegrating since it was bought in 2011 has distressing for everyone who passes it. It was first the gardener’s lodge for the big local house (long gone) and more recently a lovely garden centre. Local residents formed a group called the ‘custodians of Tooting Lodge’ and have kept lobbying the council for more action for several years. The council has threatened action but progress has been painfully slow as the owner has managed to just about comply with each order to make repairs. Most recently an inspection showed that the building is now restored and weather proof. I spoke at a recent committee meeting to insist that the hoarding is now removed as soon as possible, and as soon as it is safe for the security of the building to do so. Well done to the Custodians for many years of action for our local heritage.

Important Advice Services: Carers Rights and new EU residents information service and Universal Credit

Are you one of the thousands of carers in Wandsworth? Did you know that more than half of people looking after someone with cancer are missing out on support? Get in contact with the Carers Centre at 46 Balham High Road (02086750811) or the Citizens Advice Bureau on Lavender Hill (0300 330 1169 10am – 4pm Mon – Fri) if you want to know your rights, whoever you are caring for.

The Citizens Advice Bureau is also the home of a new advice service for EU residents. Kaia Zagrodniczek is running a telephone, email or drop-in service. Drop in at the library or email her: euadviceservice@cawandsworth.org

Universal Credit will be rolling out in Wandsworth from December 6th despite huge concerns about impact on people in other parts of the country so far. There will be a gap in payments of six weeks and I’m concerned about the impact on housing benefits for residents on incomes that change from week to week. Despite calls to the government to learn from problems and halt the roll-out, it is going ahead. The Help Through Hardship team at the Citizens Advice Bureau are very friendly and supportive and can help with advice and contacting benefits staff and council officers for you. Call 0300 3301169 10am – 4pm Mon – Fri.

Wandsworth Community Services news

I am the Labour Spokesperson on the Community Services and issues coming up at the latest community were a further roll out of more electric car charging points which are very welcomed, reinvigorating a long-term plan for a pedestrian and cycle bridge from Battersea to Chelsea Wharf (next to the Cremone railway bridge) and concerns about rising charges at the Tooting Athletics track and funeral charges for children and which we have asked to be reviewed.

Police changes

Changes are coming to our local police services as a result of continuing cuts (£600 million previously and now a further £400 million across the Met). Police stations are used far less as people phone or email their local police more. So funding will be concentrated on keeping local police teams and enabling them to respond. They will moved to being based in local ‘hubs’ which they will use as their base, and having iPads so that they can do their paperwork on the move and stay on the streets more. Wandsworth Town police station will be closed and Lavender Hill moved from its current big building to a nearby smaller building and remain open 24 hours a day. I’ve been in touch with the local Borough Commander about these changes and we’ll continue to see how it works out in practice.

You can join the local Safer Neighbourhood Team

Everyone is very welcome to the local safer neighbourhood team meetings. We meet at the Polish Club on Balham High Road every 2 – 3 months, with our local police officers, and discuss local issues. Do get in touch to find out more.

Tackling Knife Crime in Wandsworth – public meeting

Once a year the Wandsworth Council Safer Neighbourhood Board throw their doors open to the public. This year’s meeting will be on the very topical issue of tackling knife crime and will be at the Town Hall at 6.30pm on Tuesday 5th December. Please let anyone know who is interested in finding out what is being done or doing more to keep our young people safe.

Battersea Park Library and Health centre

The most controversial item at the Community Services Committee meeting was a new library and health centre plan on Battersea Park Road. The proposal to treble the size of the clinic and have a much improved health centre with many services in one building, and to improve the library all in one place is very welcome. The council plans to work with a developer to build flats above the new services which will pay for the rebuilding below. All good so far. However the proposal given to the committee was to sell off the sites to a named developer who would then lease them back to the NHS and council on low rents – but without any details of how long the rents wold be. We should have considered the merits of different plans – such as community ownership, NHS or council ownership (and keeping the profit) OR selling off this community asset to a developer. For example using the community asset, community-led housing or community anchor model which mean that we would keep ownership of this public building for the long-term.

Rather than consider any other way of delivering an exciting new community scheme, a single named developer had already been identified and this plan to sell off the library was the only one proposed. This blinkered approach is very short-term and disappointing and we voted against it.

Syrian Refugees

A second family has been welcomed to Wandsworth – at last! The Syrian war continues, and the refugee crisis remains one of epic proportions as millions of Syrian people have fled from their homes and are living mostly elsewhere in Syria or in neighbouring countries. Wandsworth Council’s glacial response continues. Hundreds of residents signed a petition in the summer of 2016 urging the council to welcome some of the most most vulnerable families to Wandsworth. The Home Office provides funding for housing and other costs for this scheme – not the council, and not using council housing. One family was welcomed last year and Wandsworth Welcomes Refugees recently received news that another family has now moved to the borough. If you are a landlord or know a landlord who could get involved in the scheme, do get in touch or contact: Wandsworthwelcomesrefugees@gmail.com

Speedwatch on Streathbourne, Culverdon and Franciscan Roads

Local residents have been able to turn into law enforcers recently and taken on the task of zapping speeding cars with the speed camera. I regularly visit local streets to find out concerns and when Streathbourne and Culverdon Road residents raised this, I asked for the speed watch team to visit. Its part of a network of speed visits which are building up picture of where the hot spots are and more action needs to be taken. Keeping speeds low will decrease deaths and injuries on our roads and reduces air pollution too.

Filming on Tooting Common

The current flurry of extra activity around the Lido and elsewhere on Tooting Common is a ‘major’ film for national release which is being filmed in various locations on the Common until December 2nd. Rumour has it (thanks to the Dogs of Tooting Common Facebook page – a great source of information, and they have just reached 1,000 members!) that the film is called ‘The Kid who Would be King‘. I might be taking my dog for a few more walks to see if I can spot any famous actors in the next few days! If anyone finds out what the film is, please let me know. Explanations by some of the film crew that Wandsworth had sold the car park and were building flats rang all too true with a few people but was just a wind up. I hope.

fanderson@wandsworth.gov.uk

Please come to Fleur and Rosena’s drop in surgeries on the first Wednesday of every month from 10am – 11am at the Scout Hall on Balham High Road, opposite Du Cane Court and on the corner of Elmfield Rd.

Wandsworth Council has been Conservative for 40 years and is inevitably is running out of steam. The big cut in affordable housing on the Battersea Power Station development has rightly received a lot of attention, and showed how little the council are prepared to fight for local residents over developers’ profits. Recently there have been other signs of the wheels falling off the wagon:

Chestnut Avenue Trees – how not to listen to local residents

Cutting down the Chestnut Avenue trees. We’ve just received the costings and they show that we were misled. In the proposal it clearly stated that the costs would be ‘funded from the successful bid for a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund’ Community Services Committee 16-353). Previously annual costs of maintaining the avenue were between £1,000 – £3,000, although more would have been needed to address increased disease in some of the trees. The full costs of the replanting were £83,348, of which £55,561 is from the Heritage Lottery Fund. (see the end of this blog for the full inventory).

It didn’t save them money (in fact it cost much more than the original £46k that we were informed was the Heritage Lottery Grant for this), and it clearly went against the views of most local people who told them they loved the Avenue. They cut it down anyway. Instead of saving the healthy trees and only dealing with those that were diseased, they cut the whole lot down. I can’t understand why they didn’t stop and listen to local people – maybe they think that they know better than local people, and that they can’t ever change their minds as this would be a loss of face.

Responses to other questions I asked are that four out of the five mature trees next to the playground did have root rot and were dangerous, and that no problems were found with 7 of the trees. The rest needed different degrees of attention. Many people have asked if some of the wood could be used for furniture on the common or given another use on the Common, and I’ve asked about this been told that three pieces of wood have been kept for community use.

The Northcote Library plan – a good idea ruined

Having a brand new library should be welcomed by local people in Northcote. But the way the Council has gone about it alienated and angered a lot of local people. A community hall will be knocked down to make way for the new building, and a much loved nursery evicted. It has been serving the community and paying rent to the council for over 20 years. The council should have worked with the nursery to incorporate its needs into the new plans, and find it temporary premises during the build. Many local people have felt ignored and said in the consultation that they didn’t want this plan for new library. There have been some modifications to proposals in response to feedback from neighbours – so why didn’t they go further and support the community hall users too?

At the last minute they realised that they should have done this and the local Tory councillors hastily sent a letter around in the week before the Committee. This said that that another premises had been found in a local church. However this wasn’t the case, but it did give false reassurance and influence Committee members to agree with the plan.

During the Committee I proposed amendments on behalf of the Labour team and local residents. A commitment to supporting the nursery and other users of the community hall, and meeting moving costs was agreed. A proposal to make these houses social housing – desperately needed and very possible in a rare development that the Council is doing itself – was rejected. Any mention of this proposal was conveniently left out of the whitewashed minutes of the meeting.

We don’t talk any more?

The Bedford Ward ‘Lets Talk’ happens every two years and is an opportunity for residents to speak with the Leader of the Council, local councillors and council officers. Our local Bedford Ward meeting was due early in this year but has been postponed – are they afraid to hear from local people?

At a recent Shaftesbury ‘Lets Talk’ meeting, Conservative councillors end up shouting at local residents who dared to question council actions. It was quickly dubbed ‘Lets Shout’ by local commentators, and the attitude of of the Conservative council are being exposed.

Police cuts

We are faced by ever increasing police cuts across London, which will result in the loss of local police stations in Wandsworth. I challenged the Conservative councillors to stop blaming the Mayor of London and instead square up to the government and tell them that enough is enough, people’s safety is at risk and we can’t have any more cuts. A staggering £600 million has already been cut and a further £400m is being cut from the Met’s budget by the Home Office. The Borough Commander said at a recent consultation meeting that this is the most change he has seen in his 29 year career in the Met. Would the Conservative councillors agree to lobby the government over our safety in the way that they have lobbied the government over issues like the Heathrow runway? You can imagine the answer – a unanimous no.

School budgets slashed

Conservative councillors are very dismissive about the on-going and ever deeper school cuts. National outrage at Justine Greening’s proposed cuts before the General Election did lead to a back-down, but Wandsworth’s state schools face difficult decisions about staffing and school facilities because budgets are reduced. We have wonderful teaching staff and excellent schools in Wandsworth and yet the Conservative councillors are putting their heads in the sand and singing a ‘our schools will be fine’ mantra when faced with any attempt to tell them what damage the Government is doing. The Education secretary is a Wandsworth MP, and they should be speaking out and saving our education system instead of standing by.

NB2 The engagement of additional security resources was a result of concerns re disruption and following consultation with the Metropolitan Police.

Responses to other questions about Chestnut Avenue:

Which are the four avenues mentioned in the Heritage Lottery Fund report specifically, and what are the maintenance plans for each of these avenues? Please could the Council also provide details of its maintenance programme for the 4 Chestnut trees at the Clairview Road end of West Drive?

The four avenues referred to in the heritage tree survey are Horse Chestnut Avenue, Dr Johnson Avenue, Garrad’s Road Avenue, and the no longer extant Tooting Bec Road Avenue. The historic avenues of Dr Johnson Ave and Garrad’s Road are oak avenues and maintenance proposals are infill planting and some relative minor maintenance pruning. It is to be noted that the Garrad’s Road Avenue is not the line of trees which border the edge of Garrad’s Road itself. See below for maintenance of other Horse Chestnuts.

Has an analysis of the other horse chestnuts on Tooting Common been carried out, and what is the state of them? When will action be taken to make other poor trees safe, and what action will this be. Local residents do not want to see more trees being cut down if they can be saved – for example by pollarding.

As I said in my earlier response (below) the horse chestnut trees elsewhere on the common (circa 300) are regularly reviewed along with all other trees (which do not form part of a recognised “wood”) on the common, and indeed throughout the borough. However, as they generally are not standing in avenues, they will be managed and maintained individually as is necessary and or appropriate. In accordance with borough-wide maintenance practices, remedial work will comprise minor or major pruning, or removal, as is appropriate to the individual tree’s condition and location.

What is the condition of the trees on Horse Chestnut Avenue on Wandsworth Common?

I am not sure what is being referred to as “Horse Chestnut Avenue” on Wandsworth Common. If it is the line of Horse Chestnut bordering the Fitzhugh Estate, it has a number of trees which have required substantial pruning and more are likely to require such work in the future. As above, any trees that are considered a risk will receive appropriate action according to the professionally-assessed level of risk.

We need a Council that will listen to local residents and their concerns about safety and crime, that will square up to the Tory Government and will vigorously oppose any further police cuts.

I’d like to start by thanking our Wandsworth police force and community safety officers who are so dedicated and effective – including the police officer who broke his foot whilst chasing and making an arrest in Bedford ward this week. We are united in supporting the Community Safety Partnership Plan and its new priority areas. In particular I welcome the Mayor’s commitment to have Dedicated Ward Officers in each ward, most are whom already in place in Wandsworth.

Now we need to also unite in opposing government police cuts. Tory councillors should stop playing politics with residents’ safety, should take responsibility for the effects of Tory austerity policies and should stop blaming the London Mayor for the government’s police budget cuts.

Funding crisis in the police service

We are facing a funding crisis in our police services caused by sustained real-terms cuts by the Government. The Met has already had to deliver £600m in savings between 2012 and 2016. And now, a further £400m is required in the next four years. In the Wandsworth public consultation meeting, the Borough Commander called these the biggest changes he has seen in his 29 year career in the Met.

Its not just the police but community safety too. Crime increases have been seen across England and Wales as a result of this failing Tory government, including as a result of cuts to so many other services that help prevent crime. In Wandsworth last year there were 40 staff in the Youth Offending team and this year there are 36 staff members. We need the resources to be able to deliver the community safety plan not just in the Met but also in community crime prevention services.

Its not just community police but other units too: cuts to Counter Terror funding

Counter Terror funding is being cut and this should be opposed. The non-political, expert Chief Constable Sara Thornton, Chair of The National Police Chiefs’ Council, set out last month that Counter Terror funding for policing is being cut by more than 7 per cent over the next three years. The Prime Minister, as a former Home Secretary, should be ashamed. This is a particular issue for London where terrorist threat levels are high and responding to events costly. We know that for every £1 of Counter Terrorism spend in response to an incident, around £2 is spent on necessary additional non-Counter Terrorism activity, which puts more strain on community police budgets.

The London Mayor is doing all he can to raise money for the police

This funding crisis means that Londoners’ safety is increasingly at risk. The Mayor has been lobbying the Government to take action ever since he was elected. Wandsworth Council should be lobbying the Government too. The Mayor increased council tax by the maximum allowed to fund the police, so that he could do everything in his power to provide more resources to the Met. All of the money possible through this mechanism was given to the police.

However this is simply nowhere near enough to fill the funding gap caused by the government.

In contrast, the previous Tory Mayor chose not to increase the council tax precept for 2016. This left a gap in the Greater London Authority income available for the Met. Despite Boris Johnson’s decision, Sadiq Khan has now made an additional £24m available. He is doing all he can – it’s the government’s cuts that the council must oppose.

Changes to police stations in Wandsworth

The Mayor has committed to ensuring that each borough will maintain a 24 hour police front counter. The Borough Commander is right to keep response times and keep the numbers of bobbies on the streets. The plans include more modernised approaches and more public engagement in different ways. This is being done by saving money on costly buildings and senior management – he has had to make invidious choices.

But enough is enough.

Three actions are urgent:

1. We now need to know where the Lavender Hill police station will be moved to and where the new community hubs will be, and then we need consultation on these plans. We need more consultation, less cuts

2. We also need assurance that the 101 phoneline responses will be vastly improved, as these are used by far more people to contact the police than police stations.

3. But above all we need a Council that will listen to local residents and their concerns about safety and crime, that will square up to the Tory Government and will vigorously oppose any further cuts.

(Wandsworth Conservative councillors didn’t agree and voted against taking any action to lobby the government on police cuts).

Local news below is on your new local Labour team, Chestnut Avenue, Ravenstone School planning application, Wandsworth Welcomes Refugees new local event, changes to local policing and Northcote Library.

The start of September was all about new terms for me – my youngest son is now at secondary school and goes off on the train on all his own (yikes), my oldest is back at Bristol University and the middle two are going to open days and planning where to go for sixth form and college.

Hector, Fleur and Clare

New local Labour team

Local elections are next May and the Labour candidates for Bedford ward have recently been selected by local Labour party members – your team is Cllr Fleur Anderson, Hector Wakefield and Clare Fraser we all live locally in Bedford ward and want to listen to local people and keeping working to make our area an even better place to live for everyone. We’re all on twitter: @CllrFleur @clare_f and @hectorwakefield

Chestnut Avenue trees

Save Chestnut Avenue campaign: The Last Draw

Plans to cut down 51 trees on Chestnut Avenue are going ahead, despite appeals for a rethink from Rosena Allin-Khan MP and London Mayor (and local resident) Sadiq Khan and my letter to the council (see previous blog). There is a notice on the common which means that the Avenue can be closed for the works to be carried out at any time in the next six months. I have been told that this will take about 2 weeks. Local people, community and councillors were told that this is necessary due to concerns about the trees’s disease and age and risk of falling down. I agreed that this had to be taken seriously. However since then other tree experts have said that the trees could be saved for the next 10 years at least, some need to be felled but not all. No work has been done on all the other Chestnut trees on the common – suggesting that health and safety wasn’t such an issue as had been portrayed.

For latest information contact me: fanderson@wandsworth.gov.uk, and see the local campaign on Twitter: @SaveChestnutAvenue

Ravenstone School

Ravenstone school playground and the garages where the new houses will be built

Parents and staff at Ravenstone School are objecting to a planning application for houses to be built very close to the playground – overlooking the playground with large glass windows, and overshadowing the playground.

If you would like to add any comments to the planning application (it doesn’t need to be a long comment), click on here. Scroll down to the bottom to see the planning documents, and click on ‘comment on application’ to register your objection.

Wandsworth Welcomes Refugees

Wandsworth Welcomes Refugees event during the Wandsworth fringe earlier this year – come to the next event on Monday Oct 9th

The annual public meeting is on October 9th at 7pm at Tooting United Reformed church, Rookstone Rd (near Tooting Broadway tube). There will be inspiring speakers and making plans for the year ahead. Wandsworth Council has still only welcomed one Syrian family to the borough. For more information and to book your free ticket click here.

These changes are the result of the £600 million cuts already made and now further Tory cuts of £400 million by 2021. To do this, but maintain response service for the public, they will be keeping local police officer numbers and cutting amounts spent on senior officers and buildings. Lavender Hill police station will be closed but not until a new 24 hr ‘customer service’ building will be opened nearby – Lavender Hill won’t be closed until the new building is opened. Wandsworth police station will be closed. Faced with this situation, the Metropolitan Police and Mayor are choosing the right priorities – making sure our 999 calls are answered and keeping local neighbourhood policing to keep us safe.

I attended the recent consultation on these changes with Borough Police. the Borough Commander Peter Laverick said that in all his 29 years in the police service, he has never seen such extensive changes as there are now. The Met has already been required to make savings of £600 million, and now must make £400 million further savings by 2021, whilst maintaining the same level of service.

At the consultation I welcomed the new resourcing for local policing and keeping police numbers rather than buildings. I also raised the concerns of local members of the Safer Neighbourhood ward group and Neighbourhood Watch representatives, that the 101 system isn’t working. currently people are finding that their calls aren’t answered, that they are left hanging on for too long, or that calls aren’t followed up. This undermines the good work of our local police officers and stops crimes being reported and stopped. I was informed that there was a move of staff from the 101 calls to 999 as a result in an increased in calls and that new staff for the 101 service will be starting very soon. I will continue to monitor this – do let me know if your calls aren’t being answered.

The Borough Commander told the public meeting that in Wandsworth 25,000 crimes per year are recorded, with 43,000 ‘calls to service’ and 14,000 of these are immediate response calls. They aim to maintain the level of local police officers (just over 500 in Wandsworth) as well as the response to the public.

A proposed way to do this is to save costs on buildings rather than police officers, and to reduce the numbers of senior officers and share resources across the boroughs through joining up boroughs into districts.

Footfall surveys for the two police stations which are open to the public showed low useage for crime reporting – people report crimes by phone rather than in person. 0.2 crimes per day in Wandsworth and 5 crimes per day in Lavender Hill.

Lavender Hill police station is on a long lease from the courts service which ends in 2029 and has running costs of £120,000 per year. An early end to the lease will be negotiated and they won’t close this building until a new (cheaper) police station in the same area, probably further up Lavender Hill, is opened. They are scoping out buildings but don’t know where it will be exactly. It will be still be the only police station open to the public 24 hrs a day.

Wandsworth police station is currently open on week days and will close. Tooting police station has already been closed to the public for some time, and will be sold. Earlsfield station will be kept as a police operations base, and the building where the cells are will be kept people will still be detained in Wandsworth when arrested.

Instead, local hubs will be opened – a safe room for police officers to start and finish their shifts from, speak to people confidentially if needed and keep equipment. The Mayor’s office said that these will all be a 20 minute walk from the ward, but ward teams will share them. They don’t have a plan for where they will be, so it was hard to tell if these really will be a 20 min walk and is something I would like to know more about.

Dedicated ward officers (DWOs): at a ward level the change is to move to having 2 dedicated ward officers, who can’t be ‘abstracted’ for Met-wide operations (eg football matches) but will be more embedded in the community. In Bedford we already have this as these plans have been rolling out for several months. The Tooting sergeant said that he will be writing in a commitment to be in the ward for a longer time into the new contracts for DWOs of 12 months.

In Wandsworth this means two DWOs and a PCSO in each ward, with an extra officer in some wards (like Queenstown) as well. Before the cuts there were three officers in each ward, but this is a commitment to keeping current levels in the long-term. I asked about overall police numbers as well – ie those in the special units, response teams etc, and the Borough Commander said that all of these numbers would be maintained.

Improved technology will enable these officers to be on the streets more and back at base less. They will have iPhone and iPads and be able to do all their recording of crimes when out and about. This is already in progress and starting to be rolled out, with an aim to have this fully operational by next Spring.

Northcote Library

Northcote library

Plans for Wandsworth Council to replace the current Northcote Library with a new, modern library on the site of a nearby community hall sounds great until you find out more about the actual plans. The new library and community space will be very welcome, but not at any cost. The current plan was made without consultation with the community groups and nursery that use Chatham Hall which will be demolished for this scheme.

Provision of a new library should have resulted in a clear majority of people in favour. But it didn’t – and this shows the considerable local objections to the plan. THIS plan for a new library is not welcome. Cllr Cook should listen to these local objections and look at the plan again.

The plan should have included them so that there will be somewhere for the nursery to go during the 18 months of building work, and so that the community space will be as good as (if not better) than the current space. Alphabet nursery is a fabulous nursery, loved by local parents and a local business paying rent to the council for 27 years and yet has not been valued by the council.

Chatham Hall community centre – due to be demolished to make way for the new library

Years after first thinking of the plan, there still is no new space for Alphabet nursery agreed during the building works. Conversations with a local church have started but should have been done at the beginning and not the end of this process as it has left the staff and parents very uncertain and didn’t need to be like this if the council had worked with community groups instead of leaving them out.

Chatham Hall is a wonderful, light and airy, fantastic big space. The new community space does not have the kitchen, safe outside space and integrated toilets that current users need. Community groups would not agree that the council has done ‘all it can’ to find alternative accommodation. Instead, it has felt as though this has been railroaded through without care for the community’s needs.

The papers for this plan were submitted to the councillors on the committee (which I am on) without any plans for the building and no costings at all. This is a council development which will provide 16 much needed new flats in the areas, and that there are over 1000 families living in temporary accommodation. So this would be a rare opportunity for the council to build social housing, but this proposal by the Labour councillors was rejected by the Conservative councillors.

It is a great shame that instead of being a new building to celebrate by local people in and around Northcote, the plans for the new library are being seen so negatively. The council can fix this with proper support for community groups, support for relocation for Alphabet nursery, a rethink on the new community space and inclusion of social housing in the scheme.

Last week I received an email from Wandsworth Council, out of the blue, announcing that Chestnut Avenue on Tooting Common would be closed for six months, or until the chestnut trees have been felled and replaced – whichever is sooner. This was quite a shock and I am sure will be for everyone who enjoys using our beautiful common.

I agreed with the majority of consultation respondents in the summer of last year that if the trees are diseased and dangerous, and they need to be cut down, then a replacement by a new avenue of yellow flowering lime trees would be better than losing the avenue. However, there is evidence that the trees could be saved, and that other ways to deal make the trees safe without cutting them down are possible. It will be awful to cut down our beautiful Chestnut trees in their prime if this doesn’t need to happen.

A reader of this blog said that I should have reported on the Avenue in my last blog. I was hopeful for change but had nothing new to report. At that stage I had been asking for the council’s plan for the felling and replanting of the avenue and how it would save the ‘good’ trees that the Community Services Committee agreed to save in response to my proposal in our meeting. I hadn’t heard a response on this – and still haven’t. The local campaign invited me to attend a meeting with councillors and officers but I was asked to leave the meeting right at the start. I hoped that both of these meant that the plan was being looked at again and a decision to reconsider the decision was being made and thats why it couldn’t be shared and meetings were top secret. But no, it appears that the council is just carrying on regardless.

This is my response to the council, and below the letter is further information about this issue:

To: Director of Community Services and Environment, Wandsworth Council

Dear Mr Chadwick

Thank you for your email regarding the closure of Chestnut Avenue. This was a big surprise to me, and will be both a surprise and a shock to users of Tooting Common.

During the committee meeting where we reluctantly made this decision, there was unanimous agreement that we should save healthy trees, and both during the committee meetings and since then I have asked for an updated assessment of which trees can now be considered ‘good’ and a plan for which these trees are. The decision in committee was not unanimous as there was a vote against the proposal so this email should be amended.

The response of the trees to the canker is dynamic and so an up to date assessment of the trees is needed – and hopefully some more trees are able to be saved, and we need to know this. Also some trees on the Tooting Bec Road end of the Avenue have been heavily pollarded to ensure their safety. I hope that these now do not need to be cut down. Despite asking for them, I haven’t heard results from any more recent survey which can tell us how many trees can now be saved, and whether the progress of the disease is as anticipated or not.

The whole project seems to be going ahead regardless of the high degree of local concerns and the desire of the committee to save trees which can be saved. If the action to save the trees by pollarding them is proving successful, the committee should be appraised of this and able to look again at the plan.

I strongly object to the very extended closure of the Avenue, and so will local residents. This long closure is very heavy handed, and contradicts the answer I was given in committee when I asked how long the works would take and was told it would be six weeks. Your letter hasn’t explained what will happen to the on-going users of the Avenue. Have arrangements been made with the café and the organisers of Park Run and the Pumpkin Parade, and for all users to cross over the common at the café, the lake and the changing rooms? I can understand that the playground can be accessed from the other side, but what arrangements are there for users of the tennis courts? What is the alternative route for cyclists?

The signatures of over 5,000 people opposing the cutting down of the trees show how unpopular this plan is, and the long closure of the Avenue will compound the unpopularity and increase opposition.

Please respect the Committee’s desire to save the trees if possible, reconsider this project in the light of new knowledge about the progress of the canker and measures taken which can save the trees, and if you do ahead in the face of public opposition, please reconsider the plan to close the Avenue for so long.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Fleur Anderson

Public anger over plans to close busy Avenue through Tooting Common for up to 6 months

Residents living close to Tooting Common have responded angrily to Wandsworth Council’s proposal to close Chestnut Avenue, which runs across Tooting Common, to all users for up to six months.

While the avenue is closed, the Council intends to fell an avenue of Chestnut trees which line it and replace them with saplings. The project is to be paid for using a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Chestnut Avenue is a well-loved landmark used by commuting cyclists, families, visitors to the tennis courts, the playground, the local cafe and participants in the weekly Park Run event and an annual pumpkin parade.

Speaking about the Council’s decision to close Chestnut Avenue, Fleur Anderson, a local councillor and Labour’s Speaker on Community Services, said; “I strongly object to the very extended closure of the Avenue, and so will local residents. This long closure is very heavy handed. The Council, which originally said the work would take no more than 6 weeks, has not explained what will happen to the on-going users of the Avenue, including commuting cyclists and families who use it daily”.

Opposition to the felling of the trees has been vocal with over 5,000 people signing a petition to oppose the council’s plans.

The Council has cited health and safety reasons for removing the trees. However, opponents of the plan point to a lack of evidence for the need to remove the avenue on health and safety grounds.

According to Fleur Anderson, “the committee which voted on the plans to fell the Avenue agreed to save as many trees as possible and there was unanimous agreement that we should save healthy trees. I have repeatedly asked for an updated report into the health of the trees but have yet to receive a reply”.

According to Jeremy Barrell, tree consultant and specialist in heritage tree assessments; “My assessment of the trees is that none are dangerous, none are dead, and most have the potential to be retained with limited intervention for decades. Wandsworth Council are justifying the removals on the basis of responses from a public consultation and the advice of experts. From what I can see the public consultation approach is obviously flawed and none of the expert reports advocate felling and replacement as the best or only option”.

Opponents of the plan to fell the Avenue claim that the Council’s decision to cut down the trees is motivated by the offer of a grant. They have arranged a final community event to mark the avenue’s final days, called The Final Draw when residents will be encouraged to record the trees by painting, drawing and photographing them.

We love the summer in Tooting! Its been great enjoying street parties and local summer events, as well as tooting Common looking glorious and the Lido being the place to be in the sunshine. You local Labour Councillors have also been working hard on representing local residents to the council – do contact us if you have an issue with anything from street cleaning and parking to housing and Crossrail as we always do our best to help.

Crossrail2 back on track

Crossrail2 Route

Plans for Crossrail2 were put on hold by the government but now its been announced that the go ahead is imminent. However the decision about the route has not been announced yet, so we still don’t know if it will be going through Balham or Tooting Broadway. We’re continuing to make the case for Tooting Broadway and for finding ways to also save Tooting Market. It was due to be completed by 2030 and for everyone squeezing onto the overcrowded Northern line everyday, that can’t come soon enough. Click here for last week’s Wandsworth Guardian story.

New cycle lane coming to Tooting Bec Road – have your say

New cycle lane proposed

There are plans for a new cycle lane and new shared cycle and pedestrian track. The consultation is open now until 10th September. More details and the online survey are here: Tooting Bec Road Cycle Lane Consultation

The plan is to would install new 1.9-metre on-carriageway semi segregated cycle lanes in both directions of Tooting Bec Road, between Dr Johnson Avenue and Aldrington Road. Cyclists would be lightly separated from motor traffic by plastic wands as seen below

Better provision for cyclists is really welcomed, and there is plenty of room for cycle lanes along this wide road. This should make cycling a more attractive option for more people – but what do you think? Controversial items I have heard from local residents so far are that the colour of the line of ‘wands’ along the cycle lane next to the Common may be obtrusive – too urban looking for the Common. Also there is some concern about the shared cycle/pedestrian path could be dangerous.

More local road safety plans to come in the Autumn

Watch out for several plans coming up in the Autumn. We have joined with local people in being very concerned about local road safety for a long time. Petitions about road safety on Balham High Road and several motorbike accidents resulted in TfL taking action and making changes to the High Road between Ritherdon Road and Streathbourne Rd. Fleur and Rosena handed in petitions to the council about safety on the High Road, Elmbourne Road and Hillbury Road and the council have been looking into ways in which to make these safer which will be revealed in September. Do contact us if you’d like to know more as soon as the plans are ready – we’ll be putting updates up here and on Twitter. We hope that the new plans will take residents concerns seriously and any consultations will be discussed with residents first.

Tooting Common

Our ward includes most of Tooting Common (shared with Furzedown ward) so we spend a lot of time representing residents views about the ward, and ensuring that we keep our Common an natural oasis. We’ve successfully objected to planning permission being sought for yet another massive mast, meet regularly with users of the common, attending the Annual Public Meeting of Tooting Common Management Committee (MAC). Fleur is an active member of the MAC, attended the recent opening of the Lido at the southern end for the South West London Swimming Club and new club building at the deep end of the pool, and is campaigning for a wooden fitness trail on the common.

Support for London to be the first National Park City

We recently had visit from Dan Raven-Ellison of the National Park City campaign as part of his big 500 mile walk. The plans for being the National Park City are exciting and would result in a change in the way we value, celebrate and benefit from all our green spaces – gardens as well as parks and commons. More information about the campaign is here: National Park City